WEBVTT HISTORIC FLOODING HAS EXPANDEDMANDATORY EVACUATIONS.THIS IS A LIVE PICTURE.14,000 PEOPLE LIVING ALONGCOYOTE CREEK WERE TOLD TO GETOUT.FLOODWATERS THEN WENT THROUGHCITY BLOCKS IN SAN JOSE,SUBMERGING CARS.FIREFIGHTERS USED BOATS TO FERRYMORE THAN 400 STRANDEDHOMEOWNERS TO DRY GROUND.>> 400 PEOPLE HAVE BEENEVACUATED BY WATER, BUT I DON'TIN THE LAST DAY IN A HALF.-- BY BOAT IN THE LAST DAY AND AHALF.CREWS ARE WORKING MULTIPLEOVERTIMES AND ARE DOING AHORRIFIC DROP TO MAKE SUREEVERYONE -- A HEROID JOB TO MAKESURE EVERYONE GETS OUT SAFELY.DAN: 200 ON THE WILLIAMS STREETAREA LAST NIGHT.SOME PEOPLE WILL BE ALLOWED BACKIN THEIR HOMES THIS EVENING.INLL, 14,000 PEOPLE WERE UNDERAN EVACUATION ORDER.THE CITY DECLARED A STATE OFEMERGENCY AND HAS OPENED SEVERALSHELTERS.MEANWHILE, THE EFFORT TO KEEP 28HORSES ON A FLOODED SAN JOSERANCH SAFE.THOSE HORSES ARE NO LONGER INCHEST DEEP WATER, BUT THERE ISNO WAY TO GET THEM OUT.THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OFCONFLICTING INFORMATION ABOUTTHE SITUATION THERE, BUT WESPOKE WITH SANTA CLARA ANIMACONTROL A SHORT TIME AGO THEYTELL US THE SAFEST THING FOR THEHORSES IS TO KEEP THEM AT THESTABLES.THANKS TO THE HELP FROMNEIGHBORS, THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TOREACH THE HORSES BY BOAT ANDHAVE DROPPED OFF FRESH HAY ANDOTHER SUPPLIESIN THE MEANTIME, HIGHWAY 101 ISOPEN IN BOTH DIRECTIONS NOW.CREWS WORKED THROUGH THE NIGHTTO CLEAR THAT FLOODING THAT SHUTTHE NORTHBOUND LANES SINCETUESDAY MORNINTHEY HAD FEARED THEY WOULDN'TOPEN IT UNTIL TONIGHT.THEY GOT TO IT THIS MORNING.WATER DISTRICT CREWS HAD TOBREACH ANOTHER POINT IN THECOYOTE CANAL UPSTREAM OF THEFLOODING TO DIVERT WATER AWAFROM THE FREEWAY.THEY TRUCKED IN ABOUT 2,000 TONS

Twenty-eight horses are still stranded in flood waters at a San Jose ranch after Coyote Creek overflowed more than 30 hours ago.

The only road leading into the property is under swift-moving water, so trailers can't enter the ranch to rescue the animals.

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When KNTV's helicopter flew over the ranch Wednesday morning, the horses appeared to be OK in hoof-high water, but still trapped.

On Wednesday afternoon, kayaks and paddle boats were able to give many, if not all, of the horses hay and fresh drinking water, Capt. Jay Terrado of San Jose Animal Services said.

Aerial video shot from a news helicopter showing the horses stranded in their corrals caused an outcry on KSBW's Facebook page. Water rose up to the horses' stomachs Tuesday.

Animal lovers were alarmed about the horses' well-being, and said not enough was being done to save them.

There were conflicting reports Tuesday night about whether the horses were evacuated. On Wednesday, Terrado confirmed to KSBW that none of the 28 horses had been evacuated because a rescue effort was too dangerous.

Some of the fences currently underwater are wrapped with barbed wire, and Coyote Creek is still raging.

"Unfortunately, because of the water levels, it's not safe for anyone to rescue these horses from the situation they are in. It's safer for them to stay where they are at," Terrado said.

San Jose animal control crews and horse owners who live nearby are concerned about the horses' well-being if they are trapped for too long.

"We have a lot of concerns with the current situation. Will the water rise? Is it too cold at night?" Terrado said.

The horses' hooves could be damaged if they remain submerged for extended periods of time. Terrado said the horses have remained calm despite the difficult situation. If a horse becomes spooked it could injure itself, he added.

Anderson Dam near Morgan Hill reached capacity over the weekend, and after more heavy rain fell, it began pouring into the Coyote Creek Tuesday for the first time in 11 years.

Terrado said once flooding recedes to a low enough level, the horses will be evacuated off the ranch.

City officials are planning to investigate what went wrong, and why the ranch owner did take action before it was too late.

"We have a lot of questions ourselves," Terrado said.

The ranch is located directly next to Coyote Creek, near the Rockspring neighborhood.

San Jose declared a local emergency as rising floodwaters sent 14,000 residents fleeing Tuesday, including 246 people who were rescued from Rockspring. City officials expanded mandatory evacuations 250 feet beyond the Coyote Creek's 100-year flood zone.